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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Who calls John at the beginning on Chapter 7?
2. Who is Carl involved with as of Chapter 8?
3. What does Taft do as soon as he returns home from the mechanic in Chapter 10?
4. How old is Carl in the final passage of Taft?
5. What does John assure Ruth of regarding Marion in the beginning of Chapter 9?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why does Taft ask his children to stay home Friday night?
2. How is John shot in Chapter 11?
3. How do Ruth, Fay and Cyndi gang up on John at the beginning of Chapter 9?
4. How does Marion's friend, the doctor, help John in Chapter 11?
5. Where does John go to recuperate in Chapter 12?
6. How does Carl explain his arrest in Chapter 9?
7. What does Mrs. Woodmore request of John in Chapter 12?
8. Why is John deeply gladdened by his morning with Marion and Franklin in Chapter 11?
9. What do John and Franklin do together at the end of Chapter 8?
10. How does John anger Ruth at the beginning of Chapter 7?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
One of the central plotlines of the novel is the relationship between John Nickel and John Taft. This relationship is odd in that it does not abandon itself to the sexual tension around it. Write a three-part essay, analyzing this relationship:
Part 1) What is John Nickel's initial impression of Fay Taft, and why does he decide to bring her on to staff at Muddy's? Discuss how the relationship between Fay and John develops in the first weeks. How does it shift on the night that Carl overdoses?
Part 2) Discuss how John and Fay's impromptu trip to Shiloh helps develop the relationship between them. Why do they go? What is each character looking for from the other in these passages? What act of tenderness occurs at the end of the night?
Part 3) How does the relationship between John and Fay become a romantic relationship? What events help catalyze this shift? What kind of reaction does this receive from those around them, and how does the romantic entanglement effectively end?
Essay Topic 2
The novel of "Taft" has a major character's death at the center of its narrative, and the ramifications of this death serve as a dire warning to the other characters. Write an essay about death and the fear of death in "Taft". How does Taft's death ripple through the narrative of the novel? How does its effect confirm John's fears about Franklin? What does he worry will happen if he disappears from his son's life?
Essay Topic 3
Romance in the novel is both a powerful force between characters and also one that is overcome by other types of love. Write an essay about the way romance is portrayed in "Taft". How does John Nickel fall in love with women in different and abandoned way? How do these romances fall apart? Discuss the motivations John has to leave the women that win his heart. What is more important to him in life?
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This section contains 1,218 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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